11.22.2010

Is Boston's Best Burger at Coda?

Cheeseburger and Shoestring Fries, Coda Boston

I bet you thought I'd forgotten about the Friday burger, didn't you? So sorry, it's not like me to post things so late! I blame the holidays. But anyway, this past Friday's Burger destination was my choice and talk about the pressure of trying to decide on a contender for the best burger in Boston! Especially due to the fact that this burger would be following in the footsteps of my newly crowned favorite, The Bristol Burger. To make my decision, I turned to Google and entered "Best Burger in Back Bay". A wide variety of places came up, some of which I already knew Richard had already been to and then, I happened across a couple of places that claimed Coda had the best burger in Boston. I had been to Coda before and thought their balsamic marinated steak was terrific and quite possible one of the best deals around. So I was pumped to see what they could do with a burger.

Cheeseburger, Coda Boston

First, let me cover the pros of my Coda Burger experience

+ The burger bun was good. Very flavorful, with flecks of black pepper
+ There was a good amount of char on the outside, creating a nice crispy crust that crackled as I bit into it
+ Tomatoes were no where to be found on the burger (it's November, they shouldn't be!)

Handcut Shoestring Fries, Coda Boston

+ The fries made the meal. Delicate little strips of potato, they were freshly fried, perfectly salted and ridiculously addictive
+ The theme song to MASH was playing as we ate our burgers. I don't know why this is a pro, but to me, it was hilarious. When have you ever heard the theme song to MASH being played while you were eating your burger?
+ The burger was reasonably priced at $10

And now for the drawbacks of the burger...

- The biggest offense was that I ordered my burger medium rare and it came out medium well. Not a spot of pink to be found. This made for a pretty dry burger. Bummer.
- The burger didn't fit the bun. This made for extra breading around the edges of the burger.
- There wasn't enough cheese. It just seemed like one little piece of cheddar was melted on top and I couldn't even taste it. A good cheeseburger should be oozing with melty cheese!

Even though it seems this spot isn't the home of the best burger in Boston, I still would recommend this place. The atmosphere is comfortably quaint, the prices are extremely reasonable (especially for where it's located) and the service is friendly.

Sadly there won't be a burger Friday post this week with the holidays (I suggested a turkey burger but Richard wouldn't hear of it) but watch out for the first burger of December! We've been tossing around a lot of good candidates and I think it's going to be a good one...there's a rather heated debate brewing on grilled vs. griddled burger...care to weigh in??

About Me

Private Chef, Caterer and Food Writer, co-owner of The Skinny Beet. Self proclaimed food-geek and lover of all things Boston, cooking up original and creative recipes from my wicked Small Boston Kitchen.
Contact: KNBarszcz[at]gmail[dot]com